Machine for treating quill substances.



W. WEBSTER.

MACHINE FOR TBEATING QUILL SUBSTANGES. APPLIDATION FILED 00T. s1, 4190e.

900,048, Patented sept.29,1908

n Wentorf W. WEBSTER. MACHINE FOR TREATING QUILL SUBSTANGES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 31,1908` Patented Sept. 29, 1908. 11 SHEETS-SHEET2,

lnrcnkar.

a l s s e n n w lllartnoys.

W. WEBSTER.

MACHINE FOB TREATING QUILLSUBSTANGES.

Patented sept. 29, 1998.

11 sHEETsAsHEET s'.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 31,1906.

Inventor Witnesses Attorneys w. WEBSTER. A MACHINE FOR TBEATING QUILLSUBSTANCBS.

APPLICATION FILED ooT. 31,1906.

Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

f llllll IIIIIA lnrznfor WMM WM Witnesses.

WMK?

Arnnneyi' W. WEBSTER. MACHINE Fon TBEATING QUILL SUBSTANGES..APPLICATION FILED 00T. 31,1908.V

Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

11 sHBnTs-snnm 5.

Witnesses I Yr 2L fvvky w. WEBSTER. MAGHINEIOR TREATING QUILLSUBSTANCES.

` APPLICATION FILED 00T. 31,1906. 900,048, Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

/50 /nvenrnr Attorney@ Patented Spt." 29, 1908.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

w. WEBSTER. MACHINE FORYTREATING QUILL SUBSTANGES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 31,1906.

/nwntar llorneya W WEBSTER MACHINE FOB. TREATING QUILL SUBSTANGES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31,19Q6. .900,048 Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 8.4

0 W n10 6 t0 ,.l Il xm Il ||I ual .Mv F a a ---L w MJ InventarnarfneyigW. WEBSTER.

MACHINE FOB. TREATING QUILL SUBSTANCES.

` APPLIOATIOH FILED 00T. 31,1906.

900,048, A Patented sept. 29, 1908.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

HIIH ,4,

Witness as W. WEBSTER. MACHINE POR TREATIN G QUILL SUBSTANCES.

APPLICATION :FILED 00T. 31,1906.

900,048, Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

1l SHEETS-SHEET 10.

g /MW wm @wm fw Jvrrnrneys W. WEBSTER. MACHINE FOB TREATING QUILLSUBSTANGES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 31,1906.

Patented Sept. 29, 190.8.

11 SHEETBBHBBT 1l.

invent r www y fm Witnesses.,

Attorney;

"UNirED sTArns WILLIAM WEBSTER, 0F LONDON,

gAgnNr OFFICE.

ONTARIO, CANADA, AssIGNonjBY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO THE WARREN FEATHERBONE COMPANY OF MICHIGAN, OF THREE OAKS, MICHIGAN,

A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

MAcHrNE ron 'rnnArrNe QUILT. sUBs'r'ANcEs.

Specification ot Letters Patent.

' Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

Original application filed November 14, 1 904, Serial No. 232,757.Divided and this application filed October 31,

isos. amai N. enano.

ATo all whom 'it may concern.'

Beit known that I, WiLLIAMWnBs'rEn, a ub'ect of the Kin of GreatBritain, residing at. ndon,'in the rovince of Ontario, Cimada, haveinvented certain 'new and useful Im rovements in Machines for TreatingQui l Substances, of which the following is'a specification, this aplication being the result of a division in t e a plication filed by meon November 14, 1904,1erialNo. 232,757, for a patent for a machine fortreating quill substances.

This invention relates to machines for treating quills in themanufacture of what is commercially known as featherbone, a substancedesigned to fill the office of flexible resilient stays in connectionwith various classes of .dressigoods In the preparation and manufactureof quills into articles of this nature, the quill is first split andthen thor oughly stri ped of lits contained ith. Thereafter te'longitudinal sections o the pill thus cleaned are ibered": that is,

rther split longitudinally into a number of thin narrow slivers orfibers lying side by side, with the end ortins of successive bunches offibers over apped and intermixed so as to create a continuous line ofsubstantiall uniform caliber, to which is applied a win( ing orcoveringof thread to mechanically bind 'the fibers together. Thereafterthe strip lthus'creitte'd is immersed in a specially prepared glue orcement, and then dried, which im arts a uniformity of structure andstrengt coheriiig all the parts together into a practically integralmass and at the same time preserving the natural elastic quality orresiliency of the original material. hereafter the strip is oftenprovided with a cloth or other covering, whereupon it is fitted to servethe general purposes of an elastic staly.

nthe practical manufacture of this substance as at present carried outthe splitting ofthe uills, the stri ping of the pjlgtherefrom, tieibering of) the split end eleaned sections, and the wrappin or windingof the fibered quill have general y been performed 4by separate-machines in separate and tinct o eratio'ns, thus requiring the expendiiture o considerable time and the services of a. large number ofoperators in the practical ing the vices .manufacture of the substance;on a considerable scale. My resent invention has' for its generalfacture .of the material described by combinperformance of the severaloperations hereina ove described in a'single machine in. which theseseveral operations ma bejrapidly and successively carried out, wherebyto Peconomize in respect to both the tii'ne reuired for the manufactureof a given quan- 1 tity of material and also in respect to the labor andexpense therein.

Briefly stated, therefore, my invention may be said to reside in amachinel for treating -uills, wherein the splitting of the quills, the eimination of the p1th, the fibering, and the'wrapping or winding are allperformed su'ccessivelyni the order named; the machine also including amechanism for feeding the quills successivelyto the splitting mechanism,intermedi/'ate meansfor passing the quills on frfm one mechanism to thenext, and mechanism for receiving and laying the wound product onsuitable rollers or spools. In the accompanying drawings I haveillustrated a machine ca able of 'carrying out the operations describeand embodyingm invention in the best mechanical form whic I have ythusfar devised after numerous tests and experimentsyand, referring thereto:

Figure l1 is a top. plan view of the complete machine; Fig. 2 1s asimilar. view on an en-4 larged scale, with the winding and spoolingAmechanism omitted; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the machine,with the spooling mechanism ppoitted; Fig. 4 is a front elevationalviewlif the machine; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of thc main table orplatform., showing the main shaft with parts of the4 driving mechanismof' the pitli-cutters and fibering devices above the same' and a diagramof the underlying years which actuate the feedrolls of thc win ers Fig.6 is an enlarged detail view in front elevation. of the iiberinor orslivering mechanism and the dcfbr actuating the saine; Fig. 7illustrates the side'nlevation, a convenient-arrangement of overheadbelt and pulle driv-l ing meohan'isnifor inirparting motion 'rectlytothe main shaft an of theniachine; Fig. 8 enlargedpdg'e'h;

55 and principalobject to facilitate the mariuvdetail elevational view,partly in section, of

the feeding mechanism of the winders,l ifig. 14 is .a detail sideelevational view of the means for separating the feed-rolls of saidWinder-feed mechanism; Fig. 15 is a detail vertical sectional vevthrough the 'l'ibering or sliveing mechanism, with the cutters thereofappearing in'edge elevation; ligs. 16, 17, 18 and 19 are, respectively,top plan, bot tom lan, front edge and rear edge views of the oWerpartition-plate 'of the ibering mechanism; lfig. 20 is a cross-sectionalView on the linei20-2() of Fig. 16,',l4'ig- 21 is a top plan view of a.pair of spacersand underlying cutters such as are employed between thelower partition-plate and the upper partition-plate; Figs. 22, 23, 24and 25 are, respectively, top plan," bottom plan, front edge and rearedge views of the upper partition.- plate of the ibering mechanism, andlfig. 26 is a top plan view corresponding to lfig. 21 of f the spacersand underlying cutters employed.

above the upper artition-plat-e.

Before proeee ing to a detail description of the machine, I will firstbriefly outline in a general Way the organization of the machine, namingthe several mechanisms and the order in which they coperate. The entiremechanism is superposed upon a flat.

horizontal'table or platform, the prim-,ipal operating parts of themachine being carried by a bed-plate supported on suitable standardsupon'and above said table or platform. At one end ol.'4 the supportingframe is mounted a quill-feeding mechanism from nhieh die stripped`quills are advanced, one at a time, upon a quill-splitting blade,whence the two halves ol' the quill arel'ed in. opposite directions pasta pair ol' 'rotary cul ters which clean the inner surfaces ol' lhe juillsections of the. pith.l '.lfhenee the cleaned sections are.a(lva1u',e(l"'one `tin a substaidially direct line and the other by arotunda-lumi.- e-ourse. so as to cause them to overlap longituelinally,between a )ai r oll feed-rolls and a longitudinal4 guide-channel to the'action ol a iibering or s livering mechanism which splits lhe. quills'longitudinally into a mass ol libers or 'sliver'.s, and immediatelythereafter divides' the lnassol' 'fibers or slivers thus formed. into aluralitv o f'i'r' iii'u nini ifi'i'i'm" 'the .throats or-receiving tubesof a series of wind- -ers situated at diil'erent angles behind andconvergil'ig toward the discharge side. of ,the libering mechanism. lnthese winders the several bundles of iibered stock are wound about by asuitable thread to bind them together info a continuous cord, theuinders themseh being provided with feed-rolls wl'iich Iserve to drawthe cords through the Winders at a suitable rate of speed to elfect theproper winding. vFrom the winders the wo und cords pass rearwardly ofthe machine over a reciprr'ieating:guiding mechanism vto and around aseries of receiving-spools on which they are wound in successive layers.

Proceeding now to a detailed description of the machine and ol' theseveral cooperating mechanisms of which it is composed, l designates arectangular l'iorizontal table or platform supported at its l'ourcorners on legs 2. 3 designates a horizontal bed-plate supported'uponand above the table 1v on standards 4, most of which are omitted fromthe drawings for the sake of greater elearness.

Describing iirst the quill-supporting and feeding mechanism: '5designates a horizontal lateral extension of the bed-plate B'from whichrise at longitudinally-separated points pairs of inner and outerguide-rods 6 and 7,

respectively, the two rods of each pair being' spaced suilieiently toreceive between them `a stack made up of a series of superposed in theform of a feed-slot 11 of sufficient size to admit the passagetherethrough. of the lower-most of the series of quills. rlhe post 9 ispreferably surinounted by a removable guide-hopper 12 .havingoutwardly-1laring Walls adapted to readily receive and guide into thevertical groove of the post the advance. or biumI ends of the quills.-From the foregoing it will be seen that the. stack vof quils issupported and guided at. its inner end by the grooved post 9 andii'iterinediate its length by the inner and outer guide-posts (5 and .7.ln order to effect the downward feed of the individual quills of the.stack as fast as each lovfern'iost quill is withdrawn, l employ meansfor maintaining a constant downward pressure on the stack of quills, themeans herein shown for this purposomnsisting of a bar .ldisposed behindthe stack and having pivoted lo the ends thereof iingers lf'lglichoverlie the upper quill crossR wise thereof, to whielibar is 'secur f ade- ]'iending rod. 15, passing through and guided in the bed-plateextension .-'3 and platform 1, and terminating in a Weight 1G. lnjordL-rto malte the har 13'readily retraetible pasta i h oi' q'iii's, the 'iiih s. nire rior-l ni ally spring-pressed d ovv nvv ardly or` inv.4 ardlyr holder and the quill-depressing-bar to be der the action of the weightresisted by thel quills bei limited by stop-pins 18 (Figs. 2 and 8). hisconstruction enables a fresh stack of quills to be loaded into thequillsubsequently raised and e aged with the ,uppermost quill, therounde upper edges of the fingers 14 ridingpidly ainst the inner sidesof the quills duringsuc upward movement.

Describing next the mechanism for feeding forward into the machine thesuccessive quills of the stack as fast as each assumes the lowermostosition: 19 and 19".designate a pair of dup icate feed-rolls that aremounted in the same horizontal plane on the upper ends of shafts 20 and20 journaled vertically in the bedlate 3. These disks, .as moreparticularly s own in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, are provided with llutedperipheries 19", and each has a portion of such grooved peripher cutaway or flattened, as shown at 19. hese disks are so positioned in thehorizontal plane of the feed-slot or throat 11 that the lines of their'maximum peripheries coincide or contact in the path of movement of thelowermost quill, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, whereby as rear ends of theflattened portions 19 come to ether upon the quill, the latter isclamped etween the grooved peripheries of said disks and advancedthereby` until the other ends of the flattened portions coincide, thusbringing said flattened portions o positiiau each other and releasingthe tail o the u q From the slot or vthroat 11,'the nose of the quill enters the grip offa pair of feed-rolls 21,' 21 B, mounted in thesar'nehorizontal plane on ghe up er surface of the` bed-plate 3, said rollsein vertical shafts 22, 22, mounted in the bedplate 3. `From the grip ofsaid lolls the quill passes directly u on the point of a knifelade 23adjustab y held by a set-screw 24 in a supporting-block 25 so as to lielongitudinally of the advancing quill and centrally of its path ofmovement, whereby the quill is split longitudinally into halves. One oft ese halves, making a turn of substantially a right angle to the right,is engaged by and fed between the feed-roll 21 an:v a companionfeed-roll 26 keyed on 'the upper end of a shaft 27 vertically journalcdin the bed-plate 3, whence it passes between the periphery of a rotarycutter-head 28 and a guide-block 29 opposite the periphery of saidcutter and adj instal-ile toward and from the latter by a setscrew 3()mounted in a lxed block 31 and engaging tlI guide-block 29.; The rotaryeutter-head 28 is lieycdon the upper end of a shaft 32 journaled'verticali 'jin the bed-plate 0n the opposite side o the knife 23 is afeedu disk 26 mounted on a vertical shaft 27 and l eyed on the\ upperends of a pair of f coperating with the feed-disk 21 to carr forward theleft-hand vhalf of the\split .qu' l into Vthe field of action of arotary cutter-head 28" mounted on a vertical shaft 32 and cooperatingwith a guide block 29 toward and from the periphery of the cutter bymeans of set-screw 3()a mounted in the stationary' guideblock 31a. Theparts 21 to 32 and 21 to 32, respectively, hereinabove described, are dulicates and perform similar operations u pon t e split halves of thequill, their function being to advance the latter and thoroughly cleanit of its contained pith by the action of the cutters 28 and 28. Thedirections of rotation of the cutter-disks are indicated by the arrowsplaced thereon, from which it will be seen that the quill-engagingportion of each cutter travels in the same direc'tion as the quillitself, the cuttin -disks be provided with oblique periphera teethwhl-ili eflectuall eat out the body of pith contained in eac i half ofthe uill.

From the pith-cutter 28 t e cleaned half of the quill passes through atubular guidechann 33 to the nip of another pair of peripherally-milledcorrugated feed-rolls 34` -of the cleaned quills which emerge at thedischarging ends of the guides opposite the nip of the said feed-rolls34 and 34a. The tu ular guides 33` and 39 are preferably secured to thebedlate 3 in a manner to render them capab e of accurate positioningrelatively to each other and to the parts which they connect by means ofbase flangesV 33" and 39a extending laterally therefrom and secured tothe base-plate as by screws 40 and 41, respectively. The two cleanedhalves of the uill, which meet at the convergent end oi' thechannel-guides 33 and 39, pass thence, one artially in advance of theother, vinto and tfirough a further tubular 4guide 42 located beyond thefeed-rolls and 34n with its longitudinal axis substantlally tangentialto the contacting peripheries of said feed-rolls. The guide 42 isadjust- .ably secul'd to the bed-plate by means of a slottedlaterally-projecting base-flange 42l1 through which asses 'assi-screw43. One

ion rolls of each pair and their grip on the stock passed between them.For instance,

the roll 26a is mounted in a block 44 rendered adjustable toward andfrom the cornpanion roll. 21a by an adjusting screw 45. The rolls 37*iland 26 are mounted in a similar bearing-block 46 rendered adjustabletoward and from the companion rolls 37 and 21, respectively, by anadjusting screw 47; and, similarly,'ifeed-roll 34a is mounted in abearing-block 48 adjustablehorizontally to-l erably provide meansadjacent to the pithcutters 28 and 28a for producing a suction effectfor the removal of such waste material asfast as it is separated fromthe shell.

The means herein shown for` this pur osev consists'of a suction-tube 50connecte at one end with afsuitable exhaust-fan (not shown) and at itsother end with the outer end of a channel 51 cored in the bed-plate 3and terminating in the space immediately adjacent to the cutter 28. Fromthe space immediately surrounding the periphery of the com anion cutter28 a branch suction duct 52 eads around and beneath the front portion ofthe machine to a junction with themain suction conduit 50, all asclearly.

shown in Fig. 2.. A constant suction being maintained through the pipesand 52, the chips and dust are drawn away as fast as formed. 4

From the guide 42 the split quills pass to the action of the ,tiberingmechanism which splits the quills longitudinally into a mass of sliversor iibers which, as they emerge from this mechanism, are divided into aplurality of bundles each of which is led away separately to and througha'inechanisin which wraps a thread tlierearound to bind them into acontinuous cord. This iibering mechanism consists, generally speaking,of two stacks of supei'posed rotary cutting disks separated'by alternatestationary washers which serve thedouble function of spacing the cuttingdisks so that the edges of one series slightly overlap the proximateedges of the other series and vof cleaning the cutting-disks andpreventing the-accumulation of tine 'particles of the materialtherebetween.` The construction 'of this mechanism will be readilyunderstood by reference to the detail views, Figs. 15 to. 26, inclusive,wherein 5?. and 54 designate a pair of vertical shafts rotatably-niounted in the bed 3 beyond and lo either sido el the"'flischarge ond.olI the guide 42, said shalts h'avi'iig keys 53"" and 54, respectively.To either side of said shafts are mounted in the bed pairs of postsy 5and 56, respectively. On the shaft of) is mounted. lirst, a washer 57,and

plate, the same being shown in detail in igs. 16 to 20, inclusive. Thismember consists of a pair of symmetrical flat wings On the companionshaft 54 59a and 62, which correspond in form and function to thespacers 59 and 62, connected by a bridge 63'. The lower flat side of thebridge has the form shown in bottom plan in Fig. 17, having a forwardlyor inwardlyextending point 64 which lies between the adjacent sides ofthe wings 59a and 62, The. bridge also has on its u per surface anupstanding narrow V-shape wall 65, thereby creating a pair ofoutwardly-divergent channels 66 and 67. I Itwill be observe by referenceto Figs. 18, 19 and 20 that the wing 62a is mounted the thickness of oneof the cutter-disks lower than the plane of the companion wing 59. Thisis in accordance with the general arrangement of the cutters and spacersthroughout the stack, wherein the cutters on one side lie in thehorizontal lanes of the spacers on the other, thus alowing theoverlapping the adjacent edges of the cutter-disks. Y

At substantially mid-height of the stack-is interposed what I terni theupper partition-t partition-plate, of a pair of symmetricallyf disposedWings 59b and 62h, connected by a bridge 68. The form and constructionof this latter is here illustrated in top plan in Fig. 22 and in bottomplan in Fig.` 23, wherein it will be seen that this bridge also has asharp inwardly-extending point 69 lying between the adjacent sides ofthe wings 59b and 62D. The formation of the under side of this plateadapts it to seat directly upon the upper surface of the wall 65 of thelower partition-plate, while its 'upper surface is formed to 'present apair of outwardydivergent channel-guides 70 and `71 leading off from theapex 72 of a vertical dividing wall constituting the upright walls ofthe channels 70 and 71. The several cuttingdisksy 58 and 61 are keyed onthe shafts 53 and 54, respectively, and rotate therewith; while thespacing-washers, as also the wings of the lower and upperpartition-plates, are provided with apertures by which they iit over theposts 55 and 56, as well as with central apertures sulliciently large tolit over the shaljtb 53 and 54 and the keyteatliers thereon, from whichit will be understood that the spacers and partitionplates are heldagainst rotation. Cointhe twostacks of cutters, respectively,

whichlatter are clamped with the requisite fessure to insure a cleanshearing action etweenr the coperating edges of the cuttingdisks'by nuts75 and 76 retained by lockingnuts 77n and 78, respectivel screwed downon the upper ends of the s afts 53 and 54. From the' foregoing, it willbe seen that the upper surface of the base-plate of the bridge 63 inassociation with the wall 65 on one side and the'edges of the interposedspacers and wings of the lower partition-plate make up the confiningWalls of the intermediate channels 66 and 67 which divide vertically andguide off in two horizontally-divergent sections substantially the lonerhalf of the fibered or slivered stock delivered by the fiberingmechanism; While the corresponding elements of the bridge 68 of theupper partition-plate, in association with the inwardly-adjacent edgesof theY superposed spacers make up the widelv divergent channels whichdivide vertically the upper half of the fibered stock and guide theseparated portionsvv away in substantially opposite directions?From/'the/fibering mechanism last Y described divided sections'of theiibered stock pass off to and through a series of4 winders'whicli windabout them a binding y/coriljor thread. These winders, which areduplicates of each other, and are positioned ott/'the table 1,- atsuitable relative angles to receivethe several sections, are eachmounted on a post 79 secured at its base by the 'clamping-bolt 80operating in a slot 81 of a horizontal foot 81 in such a manner as to berear of the enlargement 86 thereof.

"adjustable in the direction of its length toward and from the fiberingmechanism. The post 79 has rotatably mounted on a tubulary shaftprojecting inwardly from a bracket'82 connected to its upper end a pulle83, on the inner face of whicl'i are mountci'v spools 84 carrying thewinding thread 85. Attached to the inner face ofieiich pulley 83concentrically therewith and in alinement with its tubular shaft is aninwardly projecting tube '86 which extends into close proxinuty to theseveral discharging channels of libering mechanism, being irefei'ablyodWardly-flared or enlarged at t ieir inner ends as showngat S6 ol'acilitate the entrance of the stock to be wound. The threads Shfromthe spools are threaded vthrough small holes S7 in the tube Xljixsti'ii,uppeendofthe post 79 is mounted, side by side, a painy of gripping andfeeding rolls 88 and 89 (Figgslf), the function of which is to grip thewdund cord, draw it through the winders and pass it on to thereceiving-reels. One of these rolls (88 as herein shown) is fast on theupper end of a shaft 90 rotatably mounted in the head of the post 79,said shaft its upperend/ a small ear 9'1 which meshes 88 carries on"with a small gear 92 on'the companion roll f 89 and drives the latten-In order-1 to separate said rolls, when desired, the roll 89 is madeadjustable toward and from its com# panion driving roll 8,8 by beingvmounted on ashort vertical shaft 93 that is set in ahorizontally-slidable block 94 inwardly pressed by a spring 95 carriedin a laterall -projecting casing 96. To'force the block 94 outwardly asmall crank-arm 97 (Fig. 14) is mounted in the head of the ost o ositethe inner end of the block 94 an provi ed with a flattened side 97'?bearing against the latter. Ily 'ving the crank-arm 97 a uarter turn t evious manner, thusseparating the rolls.

From the lwinders the wound strips may be carried to and received uponany suitable lock 94 is forced outward v in an obreceiving-reels orspools, the mechanism herein shown for this purpose being as follows: Ina pair of'bracket-arms 98 secured to and extending rearwardly from thetable 1 is journaled a reel-shaft 99 (Fig. 12), carry' ing on oneoverhanging end a ooved pulley 100 Vby which it is driven. eyed on thisshaft are a series of friction-disks 101 and 102; and loosely mounted onthe same, between 'said disks, are a series of receivingspools 103. Onehead of each spool is crowded against the respective disks 101 by meansof a coil-s )ring 104 which at one end thrusts against t e other head ofthe spool, its opposite end having an adjustable abutment against thedisk' 102, whereby the thrust of the s ring may be regulated to securethe required) frictional eiect between the oppo-' site head of the s ooland its coperating friction driving-dis 101. By adjusting the tension ofthe springs 104 the re uired degree of drag'i'nay be imparted to t espools to create suoli a` tension on the strips wound thereon as willserve .to lay the material in close and compact order, yet withoutdanger of interrupting the continuity of the strip at any stage in itspassage through the machine. In order to la the strips in close anduniform coils I have s iown merely a well-known type of coilingmechanism consisting of a sleeve 105 slidable longitudinally on a rod106 supported parallel with andlbeyond the receiving-spools; this sleevecarrying a rseries of groovod pulleys 107, one for each spool over'which the wound strips are passed, and having at one end the usualtongue 108 that `rides-back and forth in a rightand left hand threadliirined on. one end ol the shaft 106.

'.llius far l. `have described the various tiicciianisms andinstruuientalities that perform the successive operations upon theInaterial treated, transforming it from stripped `quills at the start tocontinuous uniform "cords pf the libered shells of the quills. l

will now briefly describe the mechanism by which tl're several operatingparts already described are given their respective movements and causedto perform, t reir respective functions in the operation of the machine.

Referring first to 'li igs. 3, 5, and '7, horizontally journaled uponthe table 1 and beneath the'bed 3 is the main driving shaft of themachine, designated by 109, which shaft carries on its overhanging end agrooved pulley 110 receiving motion from a. belt 111 herein shown asdriven from a pulley 112 on an overhead shaft 113 suspended by hangers114 from the ceiling. e This shaft 109 has formed thereon a worm 115running upon an oiltablet or cushion 1 16 and meshing with a worin-wheel117 (Fig 6) fast on the shaft '53 of the libering mechanism, whereby thelefthand set of cutters is positively driven, A

master-gear 118, also fast on the shaft 53,

meshes with and drives a companion gear 119 on the lower end of theshaft 54, whereby the right-hand set of cutters is driven at the samerate of speed and in the opposite direction to kthe rotation of theleft-hand sct of cutters. "Referring next particularly to igs.

11 and 2, the former of which shows in diagram the gears underlying thebed 3 and driving the various movable parts mounted above said bed shownin iig, 2, the gear .1. 1S drives an idler-gear 12() which, in turn,drives a gear 121 on the lower end ol the shaft 35 of the .feed-roll 34,Gear 121 drives a companion gear 122 on the lower end of the shaft 35lof the companion feed-roll 34", and it also drives a larger idler 123,which drives a gear 124 on the lower end of the shaft 20 of thellattened quill-feeding disk 19, gear 124 driving a com )anion gear 125on the lower end of the shaft 2U" of the companion quillfeeding disk 19-The idler-gear 123 also drives a gear 126 on the lower end of the shaft22 of the feed-.roll 21, and the gear 126 drives a companion gear |27 onthe lower end Y of shaft 22 of the companion feed-disk 21,

Three small intcrmeshilw wears 12S 129 and 130, on the lower ends offeed-.roll shafts 2 7, 38 and 38, respectively, drive the severalfeed-rolls 26,` 37 and 37, respectively; while a small gear 131 on thelower end of shaft 27 drives the feed-roll 26",

The pitlbcutters 2S and 28, being requiredi'ito rotate 4at a high rateof speed, are preferably, and as herein shown, independently driven; theineans foi' such purpose consisting of pulleys 132 und 133 fast on the.lower ends of the sl1nl`ts'32`and 32` of said cutters, .engaged byindependent drivingr belts 134 and 135 (rigs- 3, and 7), driven frompulleys 136 and 137 ou the overlu'ad shaft 113, said belts beingr guidedaround a a pair of end pulleys 133 and 139 and an intel.'- inediutedouble grooved pulley 141i, all suitably mounted on n pair of standardskl-ll secured to the table 1 commeI R eferring next to the meansfordiiving the' i series of windei's, 142 and 143 designate a pair ofdouble grooved pulleys fast on the main shaft 109, the foriner of which,by belts 144 and 145, and suitable idler guide-pulleys 146, drive thepulleys 83 of the two intermediate winders; while the latter, throughbelts 147 and 148 (iiig. 1) and suitable idler guide-pulleys 149, drivethe corresponding pulleys of the two outside or lateral winders.

-For the purposes of driving the several sets ot' .feed-rolls S8 and 89which draw the wrapped strips through the winders, I provide on thelower end of the shaft 53 of the 'libering mechanism, beneath the table1, a master-gear 150 (Fig. 6) which, through the train of gearsindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, drives the several shafts 9() ofthe `feed-rolls 88, this train lof gearing being as follows: On onesidethe inaster-gear 150 meshes with an idle-gear 151 which, in turn, mesheswith and drives an outside and intermediate gear 152 and 153 on thelower ends of the two rollshafts 90 on one side of theinachine. On theother side the master-gear similarly drives an idler 154 which, in turnmeshes with and drives an outside and intermediate gear 155 and 156,respectively, on the lower ends of the roll-shafts 9() on the oppositeside of the machine.

o The reel-shaft 99 is driven by an endless belt 157 engaging the pulley100 and receiv ing its motion from a horizontal pulley 158 -of thepresent machine, but is intended merely to illustrate a convenient'means for applying power thereto) is provided, as s iown in lig. 7,with fast and loose pulleys 161 and 162, respectively, engaged by a belt163 driven from an suitable source of power, an ordinar belt-s lifter164, o ierated by a depending ever 165, being employed to shift the beltfor starting and stopping the niachine. v

.ln sy s :rases it is found desirable, although not necessary, toprovide a continuous rentral core 'for the several wound strips pro-`duced by -the machine. .For this purpose I have shown the presentmachine as equipped with a threiul-guide 166 eonsistiiu; 'if n`lorizontally-extending bar on the upper end of and preferably integralwith a standard 167 secured on the front end of the table or platl'orm1, said bnr having a series of slotted thread-guides 16S (Fig-1) toreceive und support core-thremlsA |69 led tlu-irethrough `from a serieso l lspools (not shown) which maybe mounted on any suitable supportsuiliciently With the quilldepressing device in its lowest position, inwhich it rests upon the lateralv extension of the bed 3, the strippeduills are stacked up in the quill-guide, after w iich the weightedquill-depressing device is elevated until the lingers 14 overhe thetopm'ost quill, as shown in Fig. 2. Power being then apf plied byshifting thel main driving-belt 163 to the tigli t pulley, motion iscommunicated to the n'iovallle parts of the various cooperatingmechanisms of the machine. Thereupon the. quill feed-rolls 19 and 19seize upon the lowest quill and, clamping it frictionally between theirgrooved peripheries, advance the point of the quiil through the throat11 into the nip of the auxiliary feed rolls Z1 and 21, whence the pointof the uill emerges upon the vertical cutting edge o the splitting knife23. From the latter one-half of the quill passes on to thc right betweenthe feed rolls 21 and 26, and thence past the cutter 2S, with its pithside engaged by the teeth of the latter, whereby the quill is thoroughlydenuded of the pith, the latter' being drawn off as fast as lt isseparated through the suction- `tube 50, the cleaned quill passinvthence through the channel-guide 33 into the nip of the feed-rolls34 and34". The other half of the split quill passes to the left, through thefeed rolls 2l and '26, vpast the pith-cutter 28, where it is denuded ofthe pith, the latter oe-inc liiranhch 52.` Thence the cleaned sectionturns hack on itself in thechannel-guide 36, being thence furtheradvanced by the auxiliary feed-rolls 37 and 37 into and through thecharnel-guide 39, whence it emerges along-,sire of but approximatelyhalf its length in there-ar of its companion half-section of the shell.Meanwhile the quill feedrells lf) and 19 have seized upon the nextlowerniost quill and advanced the latter in chiseorde-r through thesaine mechanism. ln this manner the cleaned quill stock is passedthrough the feed-rolls Ill-'l' and 34 in succ-essivev llalf--shellsections, so disposed that thcjoints on one side ure broughtsuhstautiully oipostc the longitudinal center ol the hall-sliellsections on thf` other, therev oy producing such en overlapping ol thejoints as produces a substantial continuity iu the stock considered as awhole, and prespools by the collars 101.

drawn away through the suction-l vents any breaks or gaps therein. Fromthe feed rolls 34 34* the reunited sections of the quills-pass side bside through the uide 42 into and throng the fibering or s'veringmechanism, wherein the shells are cut longitudinally into a series ofcomparatively fine fibers or slivers, which, bein l forced endwise uponthe vEr-tical'dividing e gesof the lower and upper partitionplates aswell as upon the horizontal dividing'edge formed by the pointed centralportion of the bridge of the upper partitionplate,"s divided intofourapp'roximatcly equal sections which are thence directed off throughthe angularly disposed guides of said partition-plates into and throughthe throats or mouths ofthe tubular guides of the windeis. Immediatelupon their entrance to said, guides the windy; ing or wrapping threadsare wound about the stock, thereby securing the fibers or sliverstogether and insuring the continuit of the several cords. From thewnders t e cords pass throughthe drawing-rolls 88-89, which latterthereupon become effective to assistA the previously acting series offeed-rolls in passing the stock along through the successiveniechanislns. From the drawing rolls .S8-89 the wound cords, as fast asformed,

are carried over the spooling-guides 107 and then attached to the hubsof the spools, whereupon the. frictional rotation of the latter servesto'wind the finished cords thereupon with suliicient tensional effect toprevent slack between the spools and the drawingrolls and lay the cordsupon the spools as fas'. as the are delivered by the machine. The pull othe spools is regulable byproper adlustment of the collars 102 whichdetermine the tension of the springs 104 on the spoolingshaft andconsequently determine the degree 4 of rotative-frictlonal effectimparted to the Practically all of e several mechanisms which operateupon the stock are provided .vith means, as already described, wherebytheir speed and intimacy of contact with thc stock may oe nicelyregulated and adjusted, this being important,4 since the relativemoven'ients of the several mechanism must be accurately timed and slipbetween the stock land the parts engaging the saine avoided in order toprevent both bunching or undue. enlargement on the one hand andattenuation or interruption 'in the continuity of the stock on-thcother, and maintain the, linishcd product of substantially uniformcaliber.

It is evident that the machine as hereinbefore described and illustratedin the drawings might. he considerably modified in re spoot to thcconstrue-thm and relative disposltion cf the several operating parts, aswell as hy lents, without departing from thc spirit and principle of theinvention or sacrificing ary ol thc advantages lhcrcol'.' .llence l donot thc substitution of mechanical equivalimit the invention to theparticular mechanism shown and described, except to the extent indicatedin specific claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

. 1. In a quill-treating machine, the combination withmeans forsupporting and guiding a stach i'ifquills, of means for withdrawing `thequills from the stack successively and advancing; them to the action ofthe quilltreating mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In a uill-treating machine, the,combi .nation wit i means forsupporting and guiding a stack of superposed uills, of means forsuccessively withdrawing t 1e lowermost quill of the stack and advancingit to the action of the, quill-treating mechanism, substantially 'asdescribed.

3. In a quill-treating machine, the combination with means forsupporting and guiding a stack of superposed uills, of means forsuccessively withdrawing t e lowermost quill of the stack and advancingit to the action of the quill-treating mechanism, and means fordepressing the superposed quills as fast as the lowerlnost 'quill iswithdrawn, substantially as described.

4. In a quill treating machine, the combination with means forsupporting and guiding a stack of superposed quills, of a pair offeed-rolls disposed on opposite sides of the stack in a plane transversethereto, the eripheries olz said rolls being provided with means for gril)ping and advancing between them the quills in successive order,substantially as described.

5. In a quill-treating machine, the combination'with means forsupporting and guiding a stack of superposed quills, of a pair offeed-rolls disposed on opposite sides ofthe stack, thc peripheries ofsaid rolls being provided with means for gripping and advancing betweenthem the quills 1n successive order, substaiitiallyr as described.

6. In a quill-treating machine, the eombif nation with means forsupporting and guiding a stack oi superposed quills, of a pair ofiecd.-rolls arranged in the planeet' and on op-.

posite sides ol' the lowermoz-it quill, the `pe-4 riplieries ol' saidrolls beingr provided with means for gripping and :uhfaiuing betweenthem one quill ilu-roof', substantially as described.

7u.' ln a uuiil -ire.iiing niai'hine, the combination \\'il` fr meansior slq poi1iiug and guid` in-gla slack olt superposi-d quills, oi' apair 0i" feed-rolls disposed on opposite sides oi" the stark in a planetransverse thereio, the peripheries ol' .said rolls being provided willillaifnml .pori ions rizzinifed 1.o come pensile each other fo reeeivothcforward end, olf a (juill at each rotation oi said rolls,suhsiantiallyas described.

at each ronsplele rotationl 8. In a uill-treating machine, thecombination wit means for supporting and guiding a stack of' superposedquills, ofa pair of feedrolls arran' ed 1n the plane of and on op ositesides o? the lowermost quill, the perip eries of' said rolls beingprovided with flattened portions arranged to come opposite each otherand receive the forward end of the lowermost quill at each rotation ofsaid rolls, substantially as described.

9. In a uill-treating machine, the combination wit 1 means forsupporting and guidinga stack of' superposed quills, of means forwithdrawing the quills, one at a time, from the stack and advancing themto the action of the quilltreating mechanism, and a weightedquilldepressing'device exerting a constant downward pressure upon thestack, substantially as described.

10. In a quill-trcating machine, the combination with means forsupporting and guiding' a stack of superimposed quills, of means forsuccessively withdrawing the lowermost quill of the stack and advancingit to the action of the quill-treating mechanism, and a weightedquill-depressing device exerting a constant downward pressure upon thestack, substantially as described.

11. In a quill-treating machine, the com. bination with., means for suporting 'and guidin a stack of superiinpose quills, of a air o feed-rollsarranged to rip and withiiraw the uills, one ata time, fgiom the stack,and a qui l-splitting knife disposed beyond and substantlally tangentialto the adjacent peripheral portions of said rolls, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a quill-treating machine, the coinbination with means for suporting and guiding a stack of super-.oser quills, of a pair ofhorizontal feed-rol s arranged to grip and :witlulraw successively thelowermost quills of the stack, and a vertical quill-s )litting knifedisposed beyond and substantially tangential t`o the adjacent eripheralortions oi said rollsl substantiall) as dcscri ied.

13. In a (pull-treating mac line, thel combination with aquill-splitting knil'e and means for advancing the quills end foremostonto the edge of said knife, of pitl'i-cuttcrs disposed on op ositesidesof said knife, rcspectively, an( means for advancing and guidingthe split sections into the 'lie-lds of action of said piih cutters,substantially as described. y

. 14. ln a. qunl-treatingr machine, the eombination with aquill-splitting knife and means for advancingthe quills end foremostonto the ridge ol' said kni'l'e, oi. pitli-cutters disposed. on oppositesides ol' said kni'lc, re-

bination With a quill-splitting knife and means for advanci the uillsend foremost onto the edgeof said knife, of pith-cutters disposed onopposite sides of said knife, respectively, means, for advancing andvguiding t e split sections into the fields of action of saidpith-cutters, and suction-draft passages communicating with the fieldsof action of said pith cutters, substantially as described.

16. In a quill-treating machine, the combination with a quill-splittingknife and means for advancing the uills end foremost onto the edge ofsaid kni e, of rotary pithcutters. disposed on o posite sides of saidknife, respectively, ani means for advancing and guiding the splitsections over the peripheries of said rotary cutters, substantially asdescribed.

l?. In a quill-treating machine, the combination With a quill-splittingknife and means for advancin the uills end foremost onto the edge ofsaid kni e, of rotary pithcutters disposed ono posite sides of saidknife, respectively, feel -rolls between which the split sections areadvanced and guided over the peri heries of said rotary cutters, andsuction (raft passages communicating with the fields of actionof saidpith-cutters, substantially as described.

18. Ina quill-treating machine, the combination With a quill-splittingknife and means for advancing the quills end foremost onto tlie edge ofsaid knife, of pith-cutters disposed on opposite si-des of said knife,respectively, means for advancing and guiding t e split sections intothe fields of action of Y said pitli-cutters, and means located beyondthe latter whereby the split and cleaned sections are subsequentlybrought side by side, substantially as described.

1S). ln a quill-treating machine, the combination with aquill-splittiii, r knife and means for advancing the quills end foremostonto the edge of said knife, ofpithcutters disposed on oppositc sides ofsaid knife, respectively, incans 'for allvancing and guiding the splitscctions into thc liclds of action of said pith cutters, incans locatedbeyond the lattcr whereby thc split and clcancd sections aresubsequently brought sidc by side, and fibcring mechanism serving' tosplit thc quillsections into a bundle ol' iibcrs, substantially asdescribed.

20. ln a quill-trenting` niai'zliinc, the conibination with aquill-splitting knife and means for advanciitgr the quills end foremostonto the edge of said knife, of pitli cutters disposed on opposite sidesof said knife., rcs iectively, means for advancing and guiding tlic,split sections into thc fields of action of Said pith-cuttcrs,alternately arranged channel-guides und feed-rolls serving to advancethe split and cleaned sections from said ithcutters to a position inwhich they lie si( e by side, and libcring mechanism serving to spliterally overlappin or sliver' the quill-sections into a bundle of fibers,substantially als described.

21. In a unl-treating machine, the con bination wit means for splittingthe quills and means for cleaning the split sections an subsequentlyguiding andV advancing to a position in which the cleaned sections' lieside by side, of a {ibering mechanim ser?- ing to split or sliver thequill section! into l mass of fibers, and means serving to said masslongitudinally into avplorality of small bundles, substantially asdescribed.

22. In a uill-treating machine, the combination Wit means for splittingthe quills, and means for cleaning the split sectiom and subsequentlyguiding and advancing them to a position in which the cleaned sectionlie side by side, of a' fibering mechanism serving to split or sliverthe quill sections into a mass of fibers, and angularly dis sedchannel-guides located opposite the ischarge of said fibering mechanismserving to divide said mass longitudinally into'a lurality of smallbundles and conduct the flatter sway separately, substantially 'asdescribed.

23. In a uill-treating machine, the com bination wit means for `fiberingor slivering the quills consisting of two series of periphrotatable'cutter-disks engaging the qui longitudinally thereof and reducing themto a mass of fibers, of partition-plates located opposite the discha. ofsaid iibering mechanism and serving to vide said mass longitudinallyintoe. plurality of small bundles and conduct the latter away atdifferent relative angles, substantially described.

24. In a uill-treating machine, the combination wit means for fbering orslivering the quills, consisting of two senes of peripherallyoverlapping rotatable cutter-disks eugaging the quills longitudinallthereof and reducing them to a mass of fi rs, of partition plateslocated opposite the discharge of said I'ibcring mechanism and servingto di` vide said mass both verticall and horizontally into a pluralityof snial bundles and conduct the latter away at different relativeangles. substantially as described.

25. ln a quill-treating machine, means for reducing the quills to abundle of sliveis or fibers, comprising two series of superposedperiplierally overlapping rotatable cutterdisks engaging the quillslongitudinally thereof, in combination with stationary`

